


ballade no. 1 in g minor, op. 23

by celebratoryfondue



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Detective AU, F/F, Human AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 22:10:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16819447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celebratoryfondue/pseuds/celebratoryfondue
Summary: There’s a killer on the loose and detectives John Smith and River Song are on the case. It’s up to them to put their differences aside and stop the Master before anyone else is murdered.





	ballade no. 1 in g minor, op. 23

It’s the first day on the new assignment and John can already tell it’s going to be amazing. 

She checks her watch as she rushes up the stairs, increasing her speed because she’s already thirteen minutes late. She had promised the chief detective that she wouldn’t be late this time but they both knew that wasn’t going to happen. She gets up to the third floor and finds the room she’s meant to be in as quickly as she can and she flings the door open, a wide smile on her face as she is greeted to the sight of the two people in front of her. One is someone she has already met once before, with blonde curls and a distinct face that she would be able to recognize anywhere even though she’s barely had a full conversation with this woman, and the other is the chief detective Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart who she knows quite well and sees frequently. They are both sitting in chairs with Lethbridge-Stewart’s desk between them, and they look up as she enters the room. John figures that since she’s met both of them at least once, she doesn’t need to try and impress them with being early or even on time. She shuts the door behind her and enters the room. 

“Sorry I’m late,” she says, because even though she doesn’t have to impress them she  _ is _ still late when she had assured Lethbridge-Stewart she wouldn’t be, attempting and failing to pretend like she isn’t completely out of breath from running up three flights of stairs. She holds her hand out for the one with the curls to shake. She notices this woman is awfully pretty, her wild hair only adding to the appealingness of the rest of her features. John has seen her around several times before, outside of the one time they had met, and she feels almost intimidated, like she shouldn’t even be talking to someone this gorgeous. John clears her throat and tries to get her thoughts organized. She remembers what she had been told the previous day about the new person she will be working with. “Song, right?”

The one with the curls eyes John, who is wearing a hoodie with coffee stains and jeans, a large contrast from her own neat blouse and dress pants, and then she looks at the hand held out in front of her for a moment before she reaches hers out to shake it. She’s only been in the presence of this person for barely a few seconds and she’s already intrigued because Lethbridge-Stewart had told her that this woman is one of the best detectives they have but she looks, to put it very gently, like a mess. She’s certain there must be more than meets the eye about her, however, because even despite appearances, there must be a reason why she was picked to work with River, especially on a case as big as this one. “Right. River. And you are, again...?”

“I’m John! John Smith,” she replies, and River gives her a skeptical look that only makes her laugh because it’s a reaction she gets almost every single time someone finds out her name. She’s quite used to it by now but people’s responses never fail to amuse her. River recovers quickly but she’s obviously still very surprised, having vaguely heard of someone with that name before but never exactly accepting this person actually existing as truth. 

“John Smith? And you’re a detective?” River asks, eyebrows raised, clearly as amused by the person standing before her as she is of River.  _ John Smith _ was quite well known between everyone here but River hadn’t ever actually known who she was or that she was even a real person. John Smith wasn’t famed because of anything negative, exactly, but her unconventional way of doing things was something that was talked among everyone quite often. As odd as this person seems to be, it was something that River admired, because she wasn’t one to always follow the rules either. “I had heard of someone being called John Smith but I had assumed you were... well, something different.”

“Yep!” John says, popping the p. “That’s me! Sorry to disappoint.” Her smile shows she is  _ not _ at all sorry, instead seeming to be perfectly content with surpassing her expectations. She reaches across the desk to shake the chief detective’s hand. She speaks like they’re old friends, and in a way they almost are; they’ve both been here for as long as they can remember and while they may not always see eye to eye on every single thing, they are know they can always rely on each other and Lethbridge-Stewart doesn’t have favorites but he’d be lying if he said he wouldn’t trust John with practically anything. “Good morning, Chief Lethbridge-Stewart.”

“Good morning, Miss Smith,” he responds, not even bothering to bring up her tardiness. John being late is something of a usual occurrence and Lethbridge-Stewart is much to aware that mentioning it will not do anything at all to make her on time for their next meeting. He still tries to stifle his smile because he still has to protect some of his dignity and act professional, especially because River is in the room. He gestures for John to sit down before he begins speaking again. “Thank you both for joining me and agreeing to take on this case. It is a very important one and you two were very carefully picked for this.” 

John moves to sit in the chair next to River’s and turns to Lethbridge-Stewart to give him her full attention. She had already heard of this case, it was practically impossible not to have, but she had done her research when she was initially approached about it and was ready to finally rid the world of this horrible killer. Too many innocent people have already been murdered and even though she and River haven’t even been told what their assignment was yet, she’s prepared to stop him before anyone else dies at his hand. “So this is about that recent murderer, right? The Master, they’ve been nicknaming him?”

“Yes. And as it happens, he has struck again,” he answers, picking up the files from the desk in front of him. The Master has been around for a while but he’s been causing a lot of commotion, especially recently; he hasn’t been doing anything too often but he seems to enjoy stirring fear in everyone. No one knows anything about him besides what the press has nicknamed him but he’s frequently on the news whether or not he’s killed anyone. This time, however, he has murdered someone in the past day — the most recent person had been a young woman and Lethbridge-Stewart made an executive decision to put John and River, two of the very best detectives, together so they can stop the Master once and for all. He hands the file across the table and River takes it first, quickly skimming over the first page. She likes to stay on top of recent events so she is aware of everything that has been released to the public about this man; she wants him stopped more than anything. When River finishes reading the file, she hands it to John who also takes a moment to examine it. “Which is why, starting today, you two will be working together. You are both very good at what you do and I think you’ll work very well as a team. I want you two to go to the crime scene today and see what you can figure out.”

“We’ll do our best!” John says, her voice sounding more chipper than anything River has ever heard, and River finds herself wondering how someone can be so energetic so early in the morning. She had no idea know what she was expecting John to be like, but it certainly wasn’t this. Not that there’s anything wrong with John, but in the short time they’ve known each other she’s already made quite an impression. River doesn’t doubt that they’ll work well together but she can’t help but question how efficient John’s ways of working are. She knows she shouldn’t be so quick to judge but she just wants to solve this as best as possible. 

“There’s a taxi already outside that’s already been paid for. It’s going to bring you to the crime scene. Here’s the room you’ll find the victim in,” Lethbridge-Stewart says, interrupting River’s train of thought. She and John stand up and he hands River a small scrap of paper and a key. He looks like he trusts them and she wants to make sure they do good today and make enough progress. She knows it’s only the first day on the case but she hopes two brains both trying to figure out who the Master is will be better than one. “I have faith that if anyone can finally solve this and catch the Master, it’s you two.”

“We’ll try not to let you down,” River promises as she and John exit the room and make their way outside. The taxi, as they had been informed, is waiting for them outside and they get inside. The car immediately takes off, leaving River and John in an uncomfortable silence as they are taken to their destination. They’re both anxious; not only are they starting a new case but they’re also doing it with someone they’ve never worked with before. They both trust Lethbridge-Stewart’s judgement but they do both have that little bit of doubt in the back of their minds. They want to help people and can only hope they will be able to successfully close this case, not only because they want to prove Lethbridge-Stewart right but also because they want to finally get rid of the Master. 

“I really hope that it’s nothing too bad,” John comments after a moment of searching for something to say. River gives her a confused look because that had seemingly come out of nowhere, and she’s beginning to think that the majority of the things that come out of John’s mouth just don’t make any sense. John sees River’s bewildered expression so she elaborates, grinning. River seems to be almost constantly confused by her and it just makes her laugh. It seems like most people are and all it does is amuse her. She says seriously, “I don’t exactly want to see something really weird at nine o’clock in the morning.”

River doesn’t know how to even respond to that so she remains silent and just settles with giving her a polite, awkward smile. Neither of them know what else to say for the rest of the ride, relieved when the car finally comes to a stop in front of an apartment building. They thank the driver and exit the taxi, River reaching into her bag as they approach the door to take out the paper Lethbridge-Stewart had given her so she can check what room they are going to. The elevator inside takes them up a few floors and they find the room, River finding the key she had been given and unlocking the door.

“Oh,” is the first thing River says once they look inside. She had braced herself for the corpse she’d inevitably see but she still feels all the air rushing out of her lungs as she enters the room. There is a body lying motionless on the floor, eyes open and coldly staring straight ahead. River approaches the body, kneeling beside it. She had read the file but she wants to see for herself. The body has multiple stab wounds scattered across the neck but otherwise it doesn’t look like there are any other signs of physical distress. “Her name is Petronella Osgood.”

“Those are bayadere stripes,” Johns says from behind River, who turns to look at her in confusion because she has no idea what she could  _ possibly _ be talking about. But John isn’t even looking at the body and instead is halfway across the room standing in front of a couch. She has an odd look on her face, an expression that River can’t quite place, and she picks up one of the pillows that had been resting on the couch. River watches her, silent for a moment because John almost seems sad, frowning as she examines the pillow she’s holding. She shakes her head slightly, finally speaking up. 

“What?” River asks, eyebrows furrowed in frustration because she really doesn’t know how she and John are meant to work together when they’re just so different. She’s sure John is a good detective but their methods seem to clash and both of them wanting to catch this killer just isn’t enough if they can’t work well together. She wants to be optimistic about it, she really does, but she and John just seem like  _ complete _ opposites. Who knows, they might end up working perfectly together and will never want to not work with each other again after this, but River really can’t see that happening. 

John points to the item in her hands. “The pillows. The pattern on them is called bayadere stripes,” she answers, as if that explains anything at all. River stares at her blankly. She doesn’t know how John even knows that or why she thinks it’s relevant enough to mention when there’s a dead body on the floor a few feet away from her and they have a job to do. John just shrugs, laughing despite the situation. She’s clearly remembering something and she explains to River, “My ex wife had a lot of stuff with this pattern so I’m used to seeing it all the time.”

“Your  _ ex wife? _ ” River repeats, eyes widening. She’s beginning to think she shouldn’t make  _ any _ assumptions about this woman because every single thing about her is just so out there and surprising. John doesn’t appear to be overly sad about it so River figures it must’ve happened a while ago. She doesn’t know how old John is but she looks almost too young to have ever been married in the past; she doesn’t look like the wedding type at all. River realizes her outburst could be taken the wrong way so she tries to look more nonchalant about it. “You were... married?”

“Yeah,” John answers as if it’s not a big deal. She and her ex wife had been separated for a while now and she doesn’t really see the point in telling everyone she meets that she had been married unless it comes up. They didn’t end on the best terms so she usually tries not to think about it but when she does it’s usually okay enough since she doesn’t feel as devastated about it as she originally did when they first broke up. “Not anymore, though. We ran into a few problems and we decided we probably shouldn’t stay together anymore.” 

“Oh. I’m... sorry,” River says, not quite knowing how to respond. There’s just so much about John, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but she doesn’t know what she should think about all this. From what other people have said about John in the past, she knew she should expect her to be eccentric but she finds herself being constantly surprised. She supposes she shouldn’t judge because there’s bound to be things about her own self that would surprise everyone else. 

“It’s okay! We’re better off now.” John shrugs. It isn’t a lie at least on her end, she hasn’t seen her ex wife since they parted but so she can’t speak for her but John knows that she’s been doing a lot better. She doesn’t know if she’d ever get back with her if the opportunity ever came up but she finds that for the moment she doesn’t want to. Things have been so much easier for John without her ex wife constantly holding her back and she doesn’t want to lose that. She laughs again, obviously joking when she asks, “What if it was her that did this?”

“Well, unless your ex wife is a notorious murderer known as the Master...” River jokes back, and John shakes her head.

“No, I don’t think she’d be murdering people. She’s not the best person morally but I don’t think she’s  _ that _ bad. And besides, if there was anyone she wanted to kill, it’s me.” She puts the pillow down and moves away from the couch, leaving River to wonder what that statement could mean. She decides it’d be best not to ask and she doesn’t say anything, watching as John heads over to where River is still by the dead body, kneeling down next to them and looking at the corpse in front of them. “So, what’s up with Petronella Osgood?” 

“There’s obvious stab wounds there,” River explains, pointing to Osgood’s neck. She doesn’t like feeling things for the people who are already dead and she can’t do anything to help them, it’s easier to do this completely detached, but she almost feels bad for this girl. She looks like she didn’t even try to struggle when she was killed and River tries not to let that thought pain her. There’s nothing they can do for this girl now, the only choice is to make sure they use her death to help them. “But there doesn’t seem to be anything else. There’s no sign of struggle. And the stab wounds are small, as if they’re barely there. Is there anything else you notice?”

John nods in agreement, leaning in to examine it closer. “She looks like she was nice.” Her voice sounds sad and River thinks it almost seems wrong coming from her, someone who normally seems to be so happy and bright. While River tries not to feel anything for those who it’s too late to save, John feels everything. She turns to River and she sounds more serious than she has in the entire time River’s known her. “We have to find this guy before he hurts even more people and kills again.”

River nods in agreement. “We will,” she says in reassurance even despite her own doubts. She wants to find him as much as John does and she really hopes they can before yet another innocent person ends up dying. She begins to rise from the floor and she holds out her hand out to also help John up. John takes the hand and stands up and River hesitates for a moment, debating whether she should or not, before she says, “There’s still some time before we have to see Chief Lethbridge-Stewart again. How do you feel about getting something to eat?” 

John’s entire demeanor seems to do a complete change, and any signs of sadness that had just been obvious on her features completely gone, as she smiles at River. She had been beginning to get the feeling that River didn’t like her all that much and hearing her asking to spend time with her makes her break out into a huge grin. “I promised Yaz that I would eat lunch with her today. But if she doesn’t mind, and if you don’t mind, then you can join us!” 

“Yaz?” River asks. She feels like she’s definitely heard that name before but she can’t quite place who she might be.

“Yeah, Yasmin Khan! She’s an intern,” John explains. Yasmin is her best friend and they almost always eat lunch with each other so she doesn’t want to cancel. “I’m sure she won’t mind if you come with us, though!” 

“Okay, why not?” River says after a moment, figuring there’s no problem with having lunch with this person. She’s pretty sure she’s never met her but John seems to be excited about eating with her so she nods. There’s no harm in doing so and it means they’ll be heading back which is convenient for her and John because they have to meet back up with Lethbridge-Stewart later. They hadn’t been able to get much from going to the crime scene that wasn’t already in the file but they had enough to get them started. 

John beams and River finds she can’t be annoyed at her in the slightest even though ever since she’s met John she’s been mildly irritated. “Great! It’ll be good to have a distraction from this depressing place.”

They begin to make their way out of the apartment and back downstairs, exiting the building and getting into the taxi that was still waiting for them. The ride is almost as awkward as the ride to the crime scene was but it is considerably more comfortable for both of them. Nonetheless, they’re thankful when they’re able to get out of the car and not have to be stuck in a silence that lasted basically the entire time, save for either of them making a comment every so often so it wasn’t completely unbearable. They enter the building and John guides the way to Yasmin. They find her in no time and she and John hug as soon as they see each other and River stands there, trying not to feel like she’s intruding or third wheeling. She immediately recognizes Yasmin; she’s never actually had a conversation with her before but she’s definitely seen her around. 

“Yaz, this is River,” John introduces when they pull away. “Remember that thing about the Master I had told you about? River’s working with me on the case. It’s our first day so we haven’t made much progress but we’re getting there!”

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Yasmin says to River, shaking her hand. 

River gives her a smile. “Likewise.”

“And River, this is Yaz. She’s just starting out but she’s an intern here,” John continues, and then turns back to Yasmin. “Are you okay if she comes with us to get lunch?”

“Of course!” Yasmin agrees with a nod. She’s seen River before and she’s definitely heard about her from other people. “Give me a minute to finish this up and I’ll meet you outside.”

“Okay! Come on River,” John says, beginning to turn around so they can go back the way they came. River follows her down and outside and they stay there, waiting for Yasmin. “Where do you want to eat?”

“I’m good with pretty much anything,” River answers with a shrug. “Whatever you and Yasmin want will be fine.”

As if right on cue, Yasmin exits the building and approaches the other two women. “Are we ready?”

“Yeah! Where do you want to go, Yaz?” John asks, beginning to walk. 

Yasmin thinks for a moment and then suggests, “How about we get Chinese?”

River nods and John says, “Perfect!”

They begin their journey to the nearby Chinese restaurant and they arrive in ten or so minutes, pleased when the wait to be seated is only a few minutes. They’re brought to a booth, River sitting opposite John and Yasmin, and left to choose what they want to order. They quickly decide and Yasmin turns to John and River. 

“Did you find anything interesting today?” she asks. She likes to live vicariously through John whenever she’s on an important assignment since she has to wait a while before she’ll be able to go on one herself. 

“Not really anything that we didn’t already know,” John answers with a shrug. She frowns, remembering the dead girl and how she didn’t deserve any of what had happened to her. She shakes her head, trying to put those thoughts out of her brain; she’s not going to get anywhere if she keeps going back to that. “We’re meeting with Lethbridge-Stewart again later today so we’ll see what our next steps will be.”

“It’s so gross what he does to those people,” Yasmin comments. “He’s always on the news even though no one knows anything about him besides the fact that he kills people.”

“Well, hopefully River and I will find out enough about him and then he won’t be on the news for much longer.” John smiles at River, having faith that they  _ will _ catch this guy. John is good at what she does and she is aware of this and she knows that River is well known for how great she is so there’s no reason why together, they can’t stop him. 

The waiter heads over and they give their orders, left to wait for their food. 

“So do you two know each other well?” River asks them, for lack of a better conversation topic. Throughout the entire time they’ve been here, she’s noticed they seem pretty comfortable with each other. In fact, they seem close enough that she’d guess they were dating. 

They look at each other and John grins. “Yeah!” she says. “We’ve known each other for years. There isn’t a single person I trust more than Yaz.”

Yasmin nods in agreement. “I can barely remember my life before John was in it.”

Their food is brought to them and they spend the rest of the time eating and making small talk. It’s mostly John and Yasmin talking and River occasionally adds a comment, allowing the other two to carry out the conversation. Eventually they finish and all stand up, ready to head back. 

“There’s still some time before we have to see Lethbridge-Stewart,” John tells River as they begin walking. “I’ll meet you there in a bit!”

They go on their separate ways and reconvene in a little over half an hour. John bursts into the room, once again naturally late. She has a cup of coffee in her hand, smiling at River and Lethbridge-Stewart as they turn to her when she walks in. 

“Sorry,” she tells them, but otherwise doesn’t say anything about it.

“Is this something you do often?” River comments, because it’s the second time in one day that John has come in late. She really doesn’t know how she feels about John; on one hand, she seems to be very intelligent and quick but on the other, she’s one of the most disorganized people River has ever seen. She raises her eyebrows at John. “You get here late because you were getting...” Her eyes drop to the coffee she’s holding. “I don’t know, a Caffè Americano?”

“I don’t drink that,” John answers with a shrug. She knows it’s probably very frustrating but being on time is something that she just can’t do. River just shakes her head and turns to Lethbridge-Stewart so John begins, “We saw Petronella Osgood and we didn’t see anything that wasn’t already on the file.”

“I think we should go back tomorrow,” River suggests, and both John and Lethbridge-Stewart nod in agreement. “We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary today but that’s because we didn’t know what we should be looking for. Tomorrow, we can try to look for any details we may have missed.”

“I think that is a very good idea,” Lethbridge-Stewart says. “Thank you for all you have done today, I know you will end up finding him.”

“Thank you,” John says with a grin. 

“You two are dismissed,” Lethbridge-Stewart tells them and they get up, John giving him a mock salute them as they exit. Once they’re out of the room, John turns to River and smiles at her.

“Bye, River! I’ll see you tomorrow!” she says cheerfully, giving a small wave as she walks off, leaving River to stare after her. She shakes her head to herself, not knowing why she feels so infuriated from this woman barely doing anything. She sighs and begins to head out.

It’s the first day on the new assignment and River can already tell it’s going to be awful. 

**Author's Note:**

> 50 points to anyone who correctly guesses who Thirteen's ex wife is


End file.
